Runaway: 10word challenge
by RoadrunnerGER
Summary: Challenged by JO. Just a little something about a little something that causes great distraction at Em City.


**Runaway****: **10word challenge

an _OZ_ story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: I don't own them. They belong to HBO.

A/N: Here is a story challenged by _JO_. She gave me ten words and I had to write a story around them. I'd be thrilled if other authors would accept the challenge and participate. It's very interesting to see how different the stories can be which were triggered by the same ten words. C'mon! Don't be shy! It's fun!

These words were given_: kitty, baby, desk, fingernails, hold, pound, tremble, sniffle, tenderness, green_

This story is for _Sweet-4-Stabler_ who got me hooked on OZ. LOL Special thanks to _JO_ for beta-reading. Enjoy!

xXx

After she had changed into her uniform correctional officer Claire Howell placed her bag in her locker. Fumbling around in it she made crooning sounds.

Then she jerked back her hand.

"Bastard!" she screamed, slamming the door of the locker closed.

When she reached for her belt to adjust it she noticed that she had ripped two of her **fingernails**. Swearing under her breath she once more threw the door in its frame, the metal thundering. Without caring further for her stuff she marched off toward Unit B.

So she did not see that the door of her locker did not close completely. It still remained open a crack. In the darkness inside low whining sounds echoed from the metal walls. Then a rosy nose appeared in the crack, **sniffling**.

Before anybody could notice a black lightning bolted out of the door.

xXx

Not much later in the afternoon most inmates of Em City were sitting in front of the televisions below the guard tower. As so often they were watching because they had nothing else to do after their individual work assignments.

A few men were playing cards or chess. Bob Rebadow and Agamemnon Busmalis did the latter. At the table to their left the Italians played Pinochle.

"It's your turn," Rebadow complained. "Will you ever move one of your pieces or do you want to save the game for tomorrow?"

"Nah…" Absentmindedly Busmalis stared at the board. Then he moved the Knight and took one of his friend's pawns.

"And that was your last move," Rebadow cheered, moving his King. "Checkmate!"

"Great," the _Mole_ muttered.

"Well, I don't play just to let you win," Rebadow teased and Busmalis huffed. Out of the corner of his eye Busmalis thought he saw movement, but when he looked in the direction he did not see anything, only the cells.

Then they all went for dinner.

"I saw a rat," Busmalis heard Cyril O'Reily say to his brother Ryan.

"Nah, you didn't see a rat," Ryan replied. "Now… the corn, Cyril!"

And Cyril smacked a ladle of corn on Busmalis' plate so forcefully that he had to **hold** on to the tray strongly in order not to drop it.

"Watcha doing?" Busmalis protested but a sharp look from Ryan O'Reily convinced him not to argue further. Together with his friend he found a place at one of the long tables and ate in silence.

Back in Em City time was creeping by slowly until the TVs went out and Murphy bellowed, "Count!"

They all lined up and a hack made his round before they vanished in their pods and were locked up.

"Another long night ahead," Rebadow grumbled.

"Yeah, but look at it this way… Molly is almost finished."

"Yeah." Rebadow smirked at his friend's name for the tunnel they were digging.

Run out of subjects they sat in silence for some time. And that was when they heard it.

_Meow._

The faint sound came from below Rebadow's bottom bunk. Both men looked at each other, stunned. Then Busmalis went down on his knees to look under the bed.

"Awww," he murmured. "C'mere, little one, c'mere."

Reaching out for the little animal he finally managed to take hold on the fur and he pulled it out.

"A little **kitty**!" Rebadow said. "Where'd it come from?"

"No idea," Busmalis whispered, holding the **trembling** handful of cat to his chest, stroking it gently. Out of big **green** eyes it looked up at him.

"It's still a **baby**," Rebadow murmured when he looked closer at the black furball. It had a white spot right below the left ear and one over the nose. The left forepaw was white, too, looking like a sock.

"I wonder if it's hungry," Busmalis mused. "Sorry, baby, I can't get milk for you now."

"It needs a name," Rebadow told him.

"Right. Hmmm… what should we call you?"

Wide eyed the kitten looked up at them, its green eyes sparkling.

"Esmeralda," Busmalis said lovingly and kissed the furry head.

"Perfect," Rebadow agreed, smirking.

When the lights went out and he went to bed Esmeralda was snuggling up to Busmalis and both went to sleep.

xXx

The next morning saw Busmalis stroll into the cafeteria with his hands deep in his jacket pockets. He looked as if he was slightly sick. Instead of lining up in front of the counter he went to the side, trying to lock his gaze with Ryan O'Reily's. They met in the storage room.

"O'Reily, can you help me?"

"Help you with what, Busmalis?" Ryan asked back, grinning mischievously. "Digging?"

"Nah… I need some milk."

"No privileges, Mole. You'll get what everyone gets."

"Not for me, O'Reily," Busmalis said and opened his jacket a bit.

Ryan's eyes lit up with delight as he saw the little kitten.

"Where'd it come from?" he asked, surprised, and reached out to caress it.

"I don't know. Last night it sat in our pod."

"You'll get your milk." With unknown **tenderness** Ryan stroked the kitty cat. "And you can't take it with you all the time. You can leave it here. I'll feed it regularly. And for the night you'll take it to Em City."

"That's great, O'Reily. Thanks."

So Busmalis gave him the kitten and Ryan fed it some milk. Then he got an old box, placed a towel on the bottom and sat the cat down on it. It meowed and both men smiled at it. Busmalis caressed the little furball and then went to have breakfast.

xXx

Ryan kept his promise. For days he hid Esmeralda in the storage room. After dinner Busmalis took her under his jacket and back to his pod. The little kitty was happy to be there with him. They were playing until lights out and then Esmeralda slept on his pillow, snuggled up to her new friend.

During the days she got more and more visitors. The rumor about the kitten spread among the inmates of Em City and they came to Ryan for proof. They all loved to pet her soft fur and play with her. No one would dare to rat on Busmalis and the kitten.

One day not long before lockdown suddenly Chris Keller stood under Busmalis and Rebadow's door.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"Who?"

"Esmeralda," Chris smirked. "You know that they're searching for her, right?"

"Yeah, heard about that," Rebadow grumbled. "So what. You want to tell them where they'll find her?"

"Just wanted to say that McManus is mad. Howell had the kitty in her locker before it ran away. He yelled at her for bringing it to OZ." Chris chuckled. His eyes lit up when he spotted the cat looking out from under the bed covers. "C'mere, little one," he said and held out his hand. And Esmeralda really came to him. "Old Timmy boy even **pounded** his fist on his **desk**," Chris continued. "He put on a real show for Howell, but I don't think that he really wants to search for the cat."

"You sure?" Busmalis asked skeptically.

"Yep. He can't stand Howell."

"He's not alone," Rebadow quipped, making Busmalis and Chris laugh.

"Guess he's happy with her being on a frantic search." Once more Chris petted the cat. "See you, guys."

"Wow, what was that?" Rebadow asked, following Chris with his eyes.

"I don't know, and I don't care."

Like every other night Busmalis lay down with his little kitty Esmeralda.

Time passed, days became weeks, weeks became months. Busmalis' parole hearing approached and when he returned from it to Em City his smile covered his whole face. That night he finished Molly, the tunnel leading his friends Rebadow and Esmeralda to freedom. One week after he got out they followed him and a bus took them to Mexico where they opened a paw-hotel for pets and lived happily ever after.

_fin_


End file.
